Device for treating a mass of loose fibers



Sept. 6, 1966 M. CHAIKIN ETAL.

DEVICE FOR TREATING A MASS OF LOOSE FIBERS Original Filed Sept. 28, 19622 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS M W 5 KM H 5 H F N O C A L VA A E L M nn 37MGM/06W Sept. 6, 1966 K| ETAL 3,270,532

DEVICE FOR TREATING A MASS OF LOOSE FIBERS Ofiginal Filed Sept. 28, 19622 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

FIG.3

INVENTORS MALCOLM CHHlK/N HLE XHNDER S N 3y Mam/d W United States Patent3,270,532 DEVICE FOR TREATING A MASS 0F LOOSE FIBERS Malcolm Chaikin,Maroubra, New South Wales, and

Alexander Samson, Greenwich, New South Wales, Australia, assiguors toUnisearch Limited, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia, a corporationof New South Wales Original application Sept. 28, 1962, Ser. No.226,932, now Patent No. 3,199,126, dated Aug. 10, 1965. Divided and thisapplication Mar. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 443,795 Claims priority, applicationAustralia, Oct. 18, 1961, 10,381/ 61 7 Claims. (Cl. 6845) The presentapplication is a division of our copending application, Serial No.226,932, filed September 28, 1962, and now Patent No. 3,199,126, issuedon August 10, 1965.

The present invention relates to the treatment of fibre assemblies withfluids supplied in the form of a jet or jets where it is advantageous tohave fluid-fibre contact throughout the assembly in a rapid manner andwith a minimum of fibre movement. The invention relates to apparatus forpreventing macroscopic fibre movement and at the same time allowingintimate fluid-fibre contact.

The invention relates to apparatus for treating a mass of loose fibreswith a fluid wherein the fibres are formed into a layer and compressedand the treating fluid is applied to the layer by means of a jet or jetsdirected transversely thereto, the layer of fibres being compressed toan extent such that relative movement between individual fibres due tothe action of the jet or jets or to the action of internal stresses issubstantially prevented whilst allowing the fluid to act freely on allfibres.

The present invention may be exemplified to great advantage in thescouring of raw greasy loose wool where it is required to remove fromthe mass and the individual fibres quantities of wool grease, suint(mainly sheep perspiration) and animal and vegetable and mineral matter,and at the same time to prevent fibre movement. Other applications ofthis invention are in the washing, dyeing, carbonising and neutralisingof loose fibre and fibrous assemblies and fibre slivers and in anytreatment of fibres with a jet of fluid in which it is desirable tominimise fibre movement. However, for illustrative and explanatorypurposes, the scouring of raw greasy wool is discussed, as in this case,fibre movement is energised by an internal fibre source as well as byexternal mechanical forces.

In present day textile processing, this procedure is commonly known asraw (greasy) wool scouring and may be carried out using an aqueoussolution of soap and soda or synthetic detergent which is caused to acton the loose wool. By loose wool is meant wool fibres whose generalconfiguration is such that some are and some are not considered to be ina parallel position to each other. In this conventional system, loosewool is usually scoured by passing it through a succession of tanks(bowls) containing the scouring liquors, the last tank being a rinsingbowl containing mains water only. The temperatures of the liquors aresuch as to effect optimum scouring of the loose wool, and usually rangefrom 100 to 160 F. In the bowls the loose wool is moved along bymechanical action and fluid friction forces and is mainly submerged inthe liquors, except between bowls when it is elevated out and passedthrough squeeze rollers, and into the next bowl.

While this method is eifective in scouring the loose wool to remove theundesired matter from it'to a degree sufiicient for the efiicientsubsequent processing of the scoured wool, it has one great drawbackwhich takes place during scouring, namely, the entanglement orintertwining or coiling of the loose wool fibres relative to each other,resulting in fibre breakage during subsequent processing.

The movement of wool fibres by writhing and/ or coiling is caused byinternal stress changes. When the moisture content of wool changes,whether adsorption or desorption, there is a change in dimension in aradial direction (e.g. swelling due to adsorption) accompanied by stresschanges and strain movements. The sum total of elemental strainmovements results in a configurational change of the curved (crimped)wool fibre, the total movement'appearing as a writhing action to whichis added torsional strain movement (coiling) about the longitudinal woolfibre axis.

The next process after the scouring of raw greasy wool is carding, wherethe loose scoured weel is disentangled in order to arrange theindividual fibres in a sliver in substantially parallel relationship.During this carding operation, wool fibres break due to the method ofdisentanglement, and the extent of fibre breakage is a function of(proportional to) the degree of entanglement of the scoured wool. Inwool processing, the longer fibres are considerably more valuable thanthe shorter ones, most of the short ones being obtained by fibrebreakage, and therefore it is highly desirable that during the scouringprocess of the loose wool, entanglement of the wool be kept to aminimum, this being one of the most important advantages of the presentinvention when applied to the scouring of wool.

In the application of the present invention to the scouring of wool,loose wool is preferably conveyed at any desired speed in a layer in acompressed state between two porous conveyors along a given path whichextends either entirely above, entirely below or partly above and partlybelow the surface of the scour liquor, which is preferably at atemperature of 60 to 165 F., and in this moving condition the compressedwool is subjected to scouring liquor jets directed transversely to thedirection of movement at any chosen pressure and velocity impinging onthe compressed wool layer from above and/ or below. These scour liquorjets which may be one or more in number in each bowl extend transverselyacross the conveyors. Of fundamentalimportance is that, in thisinvention, the loose wool is subjected to such a state of compression(which will usually involve the application to the loose wool of apressure of from 20 to lbs. per square foot depending on otherparameters, such as wool density, jet velocity, quality and state ofwool) that movement of the wool fibres relative to each other is reducedto a practical minimum, so as to bring about the least amount ofentanglement, intertwining or coiling. With the loose wool in acompressed condition during liquor jet impingement, the entanglement,intertwining or coiling of the wool fibres is kept to a minimum and thusthe condition of the scoured loose wool is such that fibre breakageduring carding and subsequent processing it also kept to a minimum. Forconvenience, wool scoured according to the present invention will bereferred to hereinafter as compression-jet scoured wool.

The present invention may be applied to any of the stages of a loosewool scouring system, such as de-suinting, detergent washing or rinsing,the apparatus used being substantially as outlined above.

The present invention is to be clearly distinguished from that disclosedin Australian patent specification No. 147,792, where the method of woolwashing as described would result in greater entanglement, and thereforea much inferior quality of scoured wool than is obtained with aconventional multi-bowl aqueous scour. From extensive experimentscarried out at the textile processing laboratories of the University ofNew South Wales, Commonwealth of Australia, it has been established thataqueous solution jetting on Wool (under liquid) without compressionresults in an extremely entangled fibre mass, as the jet force greatlyassist entanglement by moving fibres.

The apparatus as described and shown in the drawing of Austrlian patentspecification No. 147,792 makes no reference to compression of the woolfibres at any stage of the process, and furthermore, there are twoportions of the wools under liquid path where the fibres are completelyfree and may even float away from the conveyor belt which is supposed totransport them. Experimental results indicate that this method andapparatus would be most conducive to producing an entangled wool productif it were to scour at a commercial rate and for commercial cleanliness.The result would be severe fibre breakage during carding and, therefore,heavy financial loss. A similar disclosure is also contained in BritishPatents 683,137 and 573,042 and in Canadian Patent 515,153.

For an understanding of the principles of the present invention,reference is made to the following description of a typical embodimentthereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a part sectional elevation, of a somewhat schematic nature,illustrating one form of apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view illustrating the mesh character of aconveyor belt shown schematically in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a perspectiveview illustrating a practical embodiment of the rotating mesh surfacedrum shown schematically in FIG. 1.

The apparatus to be described may be used singly or with other scouringbowls, de-suinting bowls, rinsing bowls, or otherwise, the wholeconsidered to be a scouring train, which accomplishes the task ofremoving wool grease, suint, animal, vegetable and mineral matter fromaround the wool fibres as presented in the form of raw greasy wool.

A tank 1 contains liquor, up to liquid level 2, and may be connectedhydraulically to another tank (not shown) used as a storage vessel forthe liquor. A drum 3 attached to shafts suitably located in bearings anddriven by mechanical or electrical power has on its periphery a wiremesh, which in turn may be covered by other meshes.

An endless conveyor belt 4, which may consist of a flexible netting ormesh, is made to move for part of its path around a portion of theperiphery of the hollow drum 3 and may be guided and/or driven byrollers 10, 11, or the pivoting roller 8. This pivoting roller 8produces a tension in conveyor belt 4- by means of the pivoted lever 9and weights 21, maintaining a predetermined tension by taking up anystretch of the conveyor belt. The tensioned conveyor belt 4 exerts aninward radial compressive force all along the periphery of the drum towhich it is adjacent, so that when the wool is held between conveyorbelt 4 and drum 3, the layer of wool then formed is compressed andcompression exists so long as there is tension in the belt, and the beltand drum are adjacent to each other over an arc. This conveyor belt 4 ismade to move in an endless manner at the same linear velocity of thedrums periphery, so that the wool which is held and compressed betweenthe conveyor belt 4 and drum 3 is not subjected to any shear tendencieswhen compressively held. The wool is fed in a uniform manner to theconveyor belt 4 near rollers 10, and is first compressed above theliquor level 2 between the drum 3 and rollers 10 and remains compressedwhilst submerged, compression being released above the liquor level whenthe conveyor belt changes direction near roller 11. On the inside of thehollow drum 3 is an upper jet manifold 19 containing several upper jets5. This upper jetting system receives liquor under pressure from thejetting pump 7 and jets the liquor through the upper jet slots 5 in adownward direction on to the compressed wool layer which is held betweendrum 3 and conveyor belt 4; similarly the lower jet manifold 20 andlower jets 6 may receive their portion of liquor from the jetting pumpand jet in an upward direction so as to impinge onto the compressed Woollayer which is held between the conveyor belt 4 and drum 3. The woolremains in a compressed state all the time that it is submerged (whenjetting takes place) and compression is released near roller 11 where abeater 12 may be located to assist in the removal of any Wool which mayadhere to the drum mesh.

Adsorbed fluid is removed from the loose wool in a preliminary operationby squeeze rollers 13 and then proceeds to the main squeeze rollers 15,located near roller 1 4. Passing through the main squeeze rollers 15,the loose Wool proceeds to the next operation on the conveyor 16. Theliquor which is squeezed out from squeeze rollers 13 drops into tank 1,whilst liquor which is squeezed out of the main squeeze rollers 15 dropsinto drip-tray 17 from which it is pumped back into tank 1 by auxiliarypump 18. There is circulation of jetting liquor by means of jetting pump7 where it takes jetting liquor on the suction side from tank 1 or astorage tank (not shown) and discharges the jetting liquor into theupper jet manifold 19 and lower jet manifold 28, from where the liquoris jetted onto the compressed wool layer, and thus returns to tank 1.The auxiliary squeeze rollers 13 are used for the purpose of removing agreat portion of the liquor which is associated with a wet mass of wool.It may be advantageous to support the conveyor belt 4 at positionsopposite the upper jets 5, since part of the jet kinetic energy Will beconverted to pressure energy and may tend to stretch the conveyor beltsat these points. This requirement will be mainly dependent on theelastic properties of the material of the conveyor belt.

Use of the apparatus above described has resulted in a scoured Woolproduct in no way inferior to conventionatlly scoured wool as regardsresidual wool grease content and residual foreign-particle content.

In addition, the jet-scoured Wool product obtained was less entangledthan conventionally scoured wool to the extent that less energy wasrequired to disentangle the representative samples. This would indicatethat compression jet-scoured wool would yield more wool top thanconventionally scoured wool (as measured :by the top to noil ratio) andthat the jet-scoured wool tops fibres would have a longer mean fibrelength penmitting finer count Wool spinning. These postulations havebeen proved correct by experimental results.

In the operation of the apparatus described above, it is necessary toadjust the tension in the conveyor belt 4 so that, While the wool fibresare compressed to a sufiicient degree to permit as little relative fibremovement as possible, they are not compressed to such an extent that thejets of liquor do not penetrate throughout the layer. For Wool of anyparticular quality or condition the degree of compression and otherfactors for optimum results must be found by experiment. In a particularcase, very satisfactory results as shown by top to noil ratio wereobtained when scouring s Merino Warp length fleece wool under thefollowing conditions:

Wool compression pressure 45 lbs/ft. (22 gms./cm. Liquor jet velocity 27ft./sec. (823 cm./sec.) Conveyor transverse velocity- 12 ft./min. (366cur/min.) Wool layer area density 200 gm/ft. (0.22 gm./-cm. Liquortemperature (using soap-soda solution of standard concentration) F.(57.2 C.) Liquor pH 10-l0z5 Top to noil ratio 1621 This top to noilratio compares very favourably with the ratio of 8 or 10 to 1 obtainedwith conventional scouring methods. It should be emphasized that thesefigures are given only as an example and they may in fact vary over afairly wide range.

The term high velocity jet, as used herein, means a jet of treatmentfluid having a velocity such that it Will penetrate the compressed layer0t fibres and, in the case of treatment processes such as the scouringof wool fibres, will, in addition, carry away any impurities orexitraneous matter adhering to the fibers in the compressed ayer.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for treating a mass of loose fibres, such as wool fibres andthe like, comprising, in combination, a treatment liquid reservoir, anendless conveyor of a porous material permitting the passage of liquidtherethrough, having an intermediate portion of its run submerged in thetreatment liquid in said reservoir, and traveling along a path fixedwith respect to said reservoir and the treatment liquid, and oppositeend portions of its run disposed outside the treatment liquid; means,including a drum and said endless conveyor, effective initially tocompress a layer of fibres on said conveyor in advance of transport ofsuch layer through the treatment liquid; means, including said endlessconveyor, efiective to maintain such layer of fibres compressed on saidconveyor during passage of such layer through the treatment liquid;means operable to direct a high velocity jet of treatment liquid throughthe layer of compressed fibres while the layer is being transportedthrough the treatment liquid; and means, including said conveyor tomaintain the fibers under a sutficient degree of compressiori to prevententanglement of the fibers while they are being treated with the jet oftreatment liquid and, efiective only after emergence of the layer ofcompressed fibres from the treatment liquid on .the endless conveyor, torelease the pressure applied to the layer of compressed fibres.

2. A device for treating a mass of loose fibres, such as wo-ol fibresand the like, comp-rising a treatment liquid reservoir, a drum rotatableabove said reservoir with its 101WC1' surface adapted to be submerged inthe treatment liquid, said drum having a porous peripheral surfacepermitting the passage of treatment liquid therethro-ugh, an endlessconveyor of a porous material permitting the passage of liquidtherethrough, having a first portion trained to run adjacent one side ofsaid drum and extending into close proximity to said drum, a secondportion trained to run around the portion of said drum which extendsfrom a location above the treatment liquid to the level of the treatmentliquid and a third portion trained around the portion of the drumsubmerged in the treatment liquid; means to apply tension to saidconveyor for causing the conveyor to be urged against said drum forcompressing fibres which are adapted to be fed between said conveyor andsaid drum to be compressed therebetween; means for advancing saidconveyor and rotating said drum; and means for directing a jet oftreatment liquid through the fibres which are compressed between saidconveyor and said drum.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said means for directing a jetof treatment liquid through the fibres which are compressed between saidconveyor and said drum includes means inside said drum.

4. A device according to claim 2, wherein said means for directingliquid through the fibres includes means exterior of said drum.

5. A device according to claim 2, wherein said treatment liquid isdirected through the fibres which are compressed between said endlessconveyor and said drum at a location where the fibres are submerged inthe treatment liquid.

6. A device according to claim 2, including beater means adjacent oneside of said drum for removing the fibres therefrom after they have beenmoved around between the drum and said conveyor in the treatment liquid.

7. A device for treating a mass of loose wool fibres, comprising atreatment liquid reservoir, a drum rotatably mounted adjacent saidtreatment liquid reservoir and including a lower portion adapted torotate submerged in the treatment liquid, an endless belt fibre conveyortrained to run with at least a portion thereof in close proximity tosaid drum and extending around the lower portion of said drum within thetreatment liquid, said conveyor also including a portion in closeproximity to the portion of the drum which is above the treatmentliquid, said conveyor and said drum being of a mate-rial to permit thepassage of a treatment liquid therethrough and through fibres to becompressed therebetween, means for rotating said drum and moving saidendless conveyor to compress fibres fed between said endless conveyorand said drum and to transport the fibres around the lower portion ofsaid drum within the treatment liquid, means for tensioning said endlessconveyor to cause compression of the fibres fed between said conveyorand said drum, and means in said drum and in said reservoir fordirecting a jet of treatment liquid through the fibres compressedbetween said endless conveyor and said drum.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 77,861 5/1868Baker 6845 573,936 12/ 1896 Turk-ington 6844 2,724,955 11/1955 Spooner68158 FOREIGN PATENTS 760,058 10/ 1956 Great Britain.

IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner.

1. A DEVICE FOR TREATING A MASS OF LOOSE FIBRE, SUCH AS WOOL FIBERS ANDTHE LIKE, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A TREATMENT LIQUID RESERVOIR, ANENDLESS CONVEYOR OF A POROUS MATERIAL PERMITTING THE PASSAGE OF LIQUIDTHERETHROUGH, HAVING AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF ITS RUN SUBMERGED IN THETREATMENT LIQUID IN SAID RESERVOIR, AND TRAVELING ALONG A PATH FIXEDWITH RESPECT TO SAID RESERVOIR AND THE TREATMENT LIQUID, AND OPPOSITEEND PORTIONS OF ITS RUN DISPOSED OUTSIDE THE TREATMENT LIQUID; MEANS,INCLUDING A DRUM AND SAID ENDLESS CONVEYOR, EFFECTIVE INITIALLY TOCOMPRESS A LAYER OF FIBRES ON SAID COVEYOR, IN ADVANCE OF TRANSPORT OFSUCH LAYER THROUGH THE TREATMENT LIQUID; MEANS, INCLUDING SAID ENDLESSCONVEYOR, EFFECTIVE TO MAINTAIN SUCH LAYER OF FIBERS COMPRESSED ON SAIDCONVEYOR DURING PASSAGE OF SUCH LAYER THROUGH THE TREATMENT LIQUID;MEANS OPERABLE TO DIRECT A HIGH VELOCITY JET OF TREATMENT LIQUID THROUGHTHE LAYER OF COMPRESSED FIBRES WHILE THE LAYER IS BEING TRANSPORTEDTHROUGH THE TREATMENT LIQUID; AND MEANS, INCLUDING SAID CONVEYOR TOMAINTAIN THE FIBERS UNDER A SUFFICIENT DEGREE OF COMPRESSION TO PREVENTENTANGLEMENT OF THE FIBERS WHILE THEY ARE BEING TREATED WITH THE JET OFTREATMENT LIQUID AND, EFFECTIVE ONLY AFTER EMERGENCE OF THE LAYER OFCOMPRESSED FIBRES FROM THE TREATMENT LIQUID ON THE ENDLESS CONVEYOR, TORELEASE THE PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE LAYER OF COMPRESSED FIBRES.